BALTIMORE -- The Orioles have plenty to sort out this winter, but one of the biggest bullpen questions is already taking shape for 2027: who gets the ninth inning?
For now, the answer is still unsettled. Félix Bautista and Ryan Helsley are both in the mix, and president of baseball operations Mike Elias made it clear the club isn’t ready to lock anything in yet.
“It’s great having two power arms like that. They’re both going into the season with some uncertainty, for different reasons,” Elias told MLB.com’s Anthony DiComo at the General Managers Meetings in Las Vegas on Tuesday.
“We’re excited to have both of those guys. But neither of them are somebody that you want to totally bank on locking down the ninth inning for us, even though they both have tremendous amounts of experience.
“I’m pretty sure, between the two of them, we’ll get some good outcomes there. But we’ve also got to guard against the fact that they had injured 2026 seasons.”
Bautista has been Baltimore’s closer since August 2022 when healthy, and his return late in the year gave the Orioles another look at what the back end of the bullpen could become again. He came back from Tommy John surgery to make two relief appearances in late September.
Helsley, meanwhile, was brought in last offseason to handle the job while Bautista worked through recovery from right shoulder surgery. He signed a two-year, $28 million deal and chose not to use his opt-out clause after an injury-filled season of his own.
The Orioles haven’t settled on a plan yet, and Elias said that decision will depend in part on what else changes with the pitching staff.
“We haven’t talked too much,” Elias said. “I think we have to wait and see what moves will be made on the pitching staff and who we have, and then talk to [manager Craig Albernaz] and the players and figure out how we want to approach the closer’s role.
“But if Helsley’s healthy, I think it starts with him, and we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”
That would put Helsley in the lead for the role heading into the season, even after a rough first year in Baltimore. Right elbow issues sent him to the injured list twice, and he finished with a 4.11 ERA and eight saves in just 17 appearances.
The track record is still there, though. Before arriving in Baltimore, Helsley was one of baseball’s most effective high-leverage relievers with the Cardinals, working more than 50 games in four of the previous five seasons and leading MLB with 49 saves in 2024.
Bautista’s peak was just as imposing. From his rookie season in 2022 through his sophomore year in 2023, he posted a 1.85 ERA and 48 saves in 121 games. But injuries have limited him to 37 appearances for the Orioles since he first went down in August 2023, with 35 of those coming in 2025 before the shoulder injury.
Baltimore is expected to keep looking for relief help this offseason, even if it isn’t the club’s biggest priority. Yennier Cano, Rico Garcia and others are set to return, but the Orioles could still use another high-leverage arm, especially a left-hander.
Even so, it would be a surprise if anyone other than Helsley or Bautista is getting save chances early in 2027. The Orioles may not have a final answer yet, but they do have two proven late-inning weapons waiting for the job.
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